Posted on by Jeffrey Tucker

Tutorial Videos on the New Missal Chants

Chant Settings from the Roman Missal 3rd Edition (Ordinary Form), courtesy of the CMAA. The sheet music from ICEL is here. These videos are published into the commons for purposes of evangelizing. You are free and encouraged to embed them anywhere, show them to anyone, email them, or otherwise use their contents in any way that you see fit, with no restrictions whatsoever.

24 Replies to “Tutorial Videos on the New Missal Chants”

  1. Thanks!!! Much appreciated.
    I was wondering if anyone is working on composing or adapting organ accompaniments for the people's parts. That would also help the smaller parishes to get all this going immediately.

  2. I really hope these become the default choice for regular parishes on Sunday mornings. Listening to these after years of the customary settings is like going to bed with a messy kitchen and waking up to find that someone did all the dishes, organized my cabinets, bought new flatware, scrubbed the floor, installed a granite countertop, redid the backsplash, replaced the appliances, and is currently half-way through making me dinner.
    Yeah- it's the same kitchen. But, no… it's not really the same kitchen at all.

  5. I am thrilled that this resource has been made available for the use of musicians, clergy and the faithful. May it receive a wide following.

    Three things of note though: 1. Does the Gloria not sound very Ambrosian? I half expect the Archbishop of Milan to sing Dominus vobiscum and the three Kyries after it. It is a lovely rendition, accessible to the faithful. Just doesn't seem very Roman. Please correct me if I am wrong.

    2. It is already annoying to hear the overuse of the Death Sanctus in Latin (for Easter Sunday because it is solemn, as one priest explained its use to me), but now we are offering it in English as quasi-normative for the English Mass? Ditto Agnus Dei. Can we ever get beyond the Death Sanctus and the Missa De Angelis?!?!?!? Please!

    3. I know there was discussion over rendering the music according to "chant" or "modern" notation. And while I realise that chant notation is itself a convention, it seems to me that reading chant according to modern notation is a bit like reading Greek in transliteration. Is it really Greek, or is it as Greek as it could be? Maybe it's just my hang up, but I am always wondering if those little (pace to some) quilisma and episema signs could be so helpful here . . . Just a thought. As I was listening to the audio and looking at the modern notated pieces, I thought to myself, "Did you actually sing what was here, or are you interpreting it according to how it would be if it were in chant notation, isogeting the text?" I am not saying he was, I am saying that I got that impression. It's not a bad one, it's lovely in fact.

    OK, have at it!! Again, I am delighted that it's been done and may it be learned far and wide!

    FS

  6. This will be like a much-needed breath of fresh air to the liturgy! Overall I really like the new translation, and these settings (and these videos – excellent singing and visual!). Some initial reactions:

    On the Kyrie in the English translation, without the other ending on the final Lord have mercy, people are going to be confused what to sing. Half will be singing it the way the first Lord have mercy was (as it is written here for the English), half will be singing it according to the Greek Kyrie's melody for the final Kyrie. Of course that is what happens now anyway when that Kyrie is sung.

    Gloria XV translated into English – pretty close, not un-singable.

    Creed intros feel awkward will take some getting used to in English, but then most don't sing it now anyway.

    Are some of the rhythmic markings missing? I don't like the modern notation when singing chant, I'd much rather have chant notation. I hear the cantor here using the emphases and holds from the chant settings of the Latin that don't appear in the modern notation for the English translations. The markings should be there somehow. It would be easiest to incorporate them if they used chant notation.

    Shouldn't the Creed include the rubric to bow during the words of the Incarnation?

    I love the 3rd Memorial Acclamation! It sounds very pleading, Save us, Savior…

    Not sure about the Our Father in English with the new music. I thought we used a setting closer to the Pater Noster when we did an English Mass at the last Colloquium in D.C.?

    Wo, there are a lot of options for the dismissal, way more than ite missa est. Are those options also available in the Latin OF?

    Overall, this is a huge step forward. Besides restoring some of the sacredness of the liturgy, I think the new translations and settings will help dispose people to the Mass in Latin.

    I better not listen to these too many times or I'll accidentally start singing "and with your spirit" at Mass.

  7. These are excellent.

    My only concern is that these recordings are perhaps too "fine"; for the texts of the celebrant, the chants can withstand (and even thrive with) a less-than-refined proclamation.

    While a particular priest may not wish to emulate this exact approach to the chant (and certainly he must certainly pray them before worrying about getting a cadence right), the clarity of these recordings make this a valuable learning tool.

    For my ear, I would hope that the chanting of the prayers takes on some of the characteristics proper to the spoken word instead of relying heavily, even slavishly, on the rhythmic notation. There is a certain rhythm inherent in the spoken word that should be respected by the singing of the chant, especially in its syllabic forms.

    Again, these are wonderful tools; hopefully they will stay online without encumbrance.

    Will MP3 files be made available as well?

  8. Excellent. But the pitch is awfully high. Priests are not canaries. A lower pitch would sound more masculine. How I love the Russian basso profundo.

  9. I found the recordings troubling, in that sometimes the singer would linger over cadential syllables, and other times not. There are no lengthening indications anywhere in the scores – so was this person just winging it? or will such expressive indicators be later added? How can a congregation be expected to sing these chants with uniformity if the written music is not actually indicative of how they're supposed to go?

  11. I really agree that these are a "breath of fresh air". Of our 3 priests only one is capable of singing chant, one is a monotone (and off key) and the other is an unknown entity. They are at "school" for two days learning this stuff. Pray for them.

  13. Thanks for the modern notation. Neums are unfamiliar to most of us; and so are a wee bit scary. If I could get my hands on a copy of a complete, two-staff version of this music, I'd start using it tomorrow.

    –William

  14. "Neums are unfamiliar to most of us"

    The music is in modern notation–albeit in notation without meter. I'm not understanding the issue.

  15. This is great- hopefully priests will encourage their choirs to take the lead on introducing these to the parish. We shouldn't get too caught up with making sure everyone in the parish is present for a rehearsal- the more they hear them sung at Mass on Sunday- provided they have a handy pamphlet in their hands- the more they will naturally pick them up. There will always be people in the pews who will not sing and that is fine- we should not force them to- they are there worshiping in spirit and truth even if they are not opening their mouths.

    By the way- the Gloria definitely sounds Ambrosian- so it is easy, but not typically Roman…

  16. 1 — I was delighted to hear the new translations chanted! this will help not only myself and my deacon,(but most importantly our choir)to know what will be expected. It is especially helpful that someone with a beautiful voice has sung it clearly.

    2 — I also would find it helpful if the places were marked where a word or syllable is held.

    3 — The comment on the (alternative?, regular?)ending of the last Kyrie is something that should be addressed.

    4 — Are there any stipulations befroe printing these renderings out? If there are copyright protections, who do we see and how do we go about getting (or paying for) permission to print them?

    Fr. Bruce King, I.C.
    USA

  17. I'm going to second Aristotle here, I'd like mp3s of these files, so that I can put them on my iPod and learn them solidly on a long road trip next Monday

    (We're going from Ann Arbor to Chicago, for Tuesday night's St. John Cantius / Mozart's Requiem).

  19. Very helpful, but could we have a convenient way of downloading them, preferably all together in a zip file or something like that. "Capturing" each flv file is a pain. Using them on-line is not an option for me in athird-world country, but copying them to a flash disk while visiting a first-world country is!

  20. Wow! What a find! This is a Great site! Thanks for creating it!

    Fr Francis Stevenson

    Good Shepherd Parish
    Elk Grove, CA

  22. I have found this to be an excellent resource. Thank you for your hard work, dedication, and love of the Sacred Liturgy.

    I hope this doesn't sound a bit pushy but I was wondering if something similar could be created for the new translation of the Exultet. It took me two years of practice to be able to sing the current exultet and I live in fear of the effort it will require to learn the new translation of the exultet.

    The Exultet is one of my favorite pieces of music to listen or sing… it can be such a mystical experience when sung well.

    Fr. Pete Rossa

  23. This is great.
    Can it be put in a lower key?
    I am a baritone and find it very difficult to sing along.
    TY

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